The present invention relates to a string instrument, and more particularly to a guitar.
String instruments available on the market, and this includes in particular guitars, have a bridge which is located midway between the sound opening formed in the resonance body of the instrument and the lower edge of the body. This arrangement of the bridge and the opening in these instruments has been found to offer substantial disadvantages in terms of the sound string.
A proposal has been made in German Gebrauchsmuster No. 7,918,617.7 for substantially increasing the sound strength of a string instrument. According to this proposal the sound opening is completely surrounded by the bridge, in such a manner that the bridge and the mounting device for the strings are separated from one another by the sound opening. Because of the high tensile forces exerted by the tension strings and the lever action effective between the string contacting surface on the one hand and the string mounting device on the other hand, the cover board of the resonance body must be provided with reinforcing ribs on its underside (i.e. within the interior of the resonance body). Due to the presence of these reinforcing ribs a maximum sound strength cannot be achieved, because the vibrations of the resonance body are dampened by the presence of the reinforcing ribs. In addition, the reinforcing ribs have the disadvantage that they change the sound spectrum of the instrument.